More than That
by Greendogg
Summary: Some things are better left unsaid and one group of friends find out that might not always be a good thing.
1. Small Talk

**Note: All characters are owned by Hasbro Studios. Features and mentions characters from Transformers Animated and Rescue Bots. Other materials and references are the property of Disney, DC Comics, and the like.**

 **Hey folks, this is a rewrite of a story I had put together last October, I hit a roadblock with the original so I read through the first chapter and fixed a few things. Title is based on the song 'More than That' by The Backstreet Boys. For those who didn't grow up in the 90s or early 2000s like myself and remember hearing this sort of music back when it was new, I suggest looking up More than That on YouTube.**

 **I'm currently in San Francisco, CA…I love this city! First trip of the year and I plan to enjoy myself and hopefully get some writing done. By the time you read this, I'll be heading down to Fisherman's wharf or some other part of the city. Anyway…read on!**

 **Chapter 1: Small Talk**

 **March 23** **rd** **\- Jasper, NV- 7:30am.**

Tuesday mornings were anything but enjoyable at least to three of Jasper's young residents and their friends. Around this time of the morning, Jack, Miko and Raf were up and about. It was the start of yet another day at school. As usual, one or all three of them was running late.

"Where's my geography book?" Miko asked.

Bulkhead yawned as he slowly woke up. Being parked on the curb overnight wasn't exactly pleasant. Despite the fact that spring had just started the temperatures were still in the 50 degree range at night.

"Another day with the busy family." He sighed as he waited for his friend.

Meanwhile a few blocks away, things were no different at the Darby residence. Jack had overslept for the second time that week and was doing the best he could not to be late again. After a quick shower and grabbing a cereal bar out of the kitchen, he was ready for the day… or so it seemed.

"Hey Mom, you seen my backpack?" Jack asked.

"On the coatrack near the front door." June answered as she filled up her coffee mug.

"Thanks… bye." Said Jack before he started to leave.

"Remember, I'll be home early tonight…" his mother reminded him.

"Noted…" Jack replied before grabbing his backpack and heading for the garage.

"Morning Arcee," he greeted her.

Jack paused when he didn't get a reply.

"Arcee?"

He carefully put his right hand near one of her mirrors and nudged her.

"Hello?"

Arcee yelped in surprised and nearly jumped up, switching from her alternate mode.

"Whoa! Where's the fire?!"

"Yikes… it's just me." Jack assured her.

"Oh, good." Arcee sighed.

"You ok?" Jack asked.

Arcee shook herself and yawned.

"Fine, just tired…"

"But…didn't you get any sleep last night?" Jack continued.

"Only three hours." Arcee replied.

"Wow, I had no idea." Said Jack.

"Don't sweat it, let's get going." Arcee told him.

"Riight…" said Jack.

A short time later the two had reached the school. Normally during the trip, Jack and Arcee usually had a short conversation of some sort but this time around she didn't seem interested in talking that much. Getting off the bike and removing his helmet, Jack then grabbed his backpack. Turning around, he smiled giving the two-wheeler a small pat just above her headlights.

"Bye, Arcee." He said before running off.

The blue female autobot chuckled as she watched her human.

"Late as always." She said to herself.

No sooner did she finish her sentence that she realized what time it was.

"Oh brother, that means I'm late too!"

She quickly drove off heading towards H.Q.

As Jack walked up the steps, he quickly spotted Raf and Miko waiting for him. As usual, Miko was drawing something on her sketch pad; Raf was sitting next to her reading a Superman comic book.

"Hey, what's up?" said Jack.

Two friends stopped what they were doing and glanced at him.

"Hi Jack," Raf greeted.

"How's it going?" Miko asked.

"Fine…" he replied.

Miko raised an eyebrow.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, something wrong? You can tell us." Said Raf.

"Well, now that you mention it, I… think there's something going on with Arcee. She hasn't been herself lately… on the way here, we didn't really talk much." Jack explained.

"Funny, Bulkhead said the same thing earlier." Said Miko.

"So did Bumblebee, he told me Ratchet's been acting strange too." Raf added.

"Really? I asked if something was bothering her but she doesn't want to talk about it." Said Jack.

"Weird…" Miko replied.

Just then, the bell rang.

"Maybe we can find out something after school." Raf suggested.

"Yeah," Jack agreed.

"Good idea." said Miko as they headed inside making sure to be seated before class started.

Meanwhile, Arcee was close to HQ or the Clubhouse as Miko often called it. Normally, she, Bulkhead and Bumblebee had got there at the same time but not today. Once indoors, Arcee stopped to catch her breath.

"Arcee, where have you been?" Ratchet asked.

"Sorry, my human was running late and I was…" she was quickly cut off.

"No time for that…you're late." Said Wheeljack.

"I said I was sorry," she apologized.

"Ya know, you've been acting kinda strange lately… something wrong?" Bulkhead asked.

"Yeah, it's like you…haven't been yourself." Said Bumblebee.

"I'm fine, guys… don't worry." Arcee assured them before she walked off.

The two bots looked at Arcee then at Ratchet.

"What do you think, Ratchet?" Bulkhead asked.

"None of my business." Was the reply he got back.

"Ratchet, if there's anything you ever want to bring up…" Optimus was cut off. Up until then, he had been quietly watching the whole scene from the other end of the room.

"I assure all of you, it's nothing…honest." Ratchet insisted.

"All right," Optimus sighed.

"Whatever you say, Doc." Said Bulkhead.

"Yeah," Bumblebee replied.

The three of them then went on about their day.

Ratchet then looked in the direction of where Arcee went and sighed. For the last week there was something on his mind that he just couldn't shake off no matter how hard he tried. Judging by Arcee's behavior he could tell she seemed to be feeling uneasy. Deciding that he couldn't hold it off any longer, Ratchet wrote a short message on a piece of paper, folded it up and walked down to Arcee's dorm room. He then slipped the paper under the door and left.

Meanwhile, Arcee was staring at the ceiling trying to think of what to do. Her dorm wasn't much to write home about. The walls were painted in light shade of cream. On the left hand side was a framed photo of Lake Tahoe. Aside from a bed, desk with a lamp and bookshelf there wasn't much else. One shelf had a peacock blue album with several photos, most of which was of family and friends back home as well as Jasper. Next to it, was a first place medal she had won in a race. Prior to being a school teacher, Arcee had been on the racing circuit for at least a year. When an accident on the track left her unable to compete in the finals, she took early retirement. The blue female thought about what Jack had asked her on the way to school. She knew he and the rest of her friends were worried. As much as she wanted to tell them what was on her mind, she couldn't bring herself to do it. Snapping out of her thought, she noticed a piece of paper on the floor. Picking it up, she unfolded it and read the note:

" _ **Can we talk?"**_

It didn't take long for Arcee to recognize Ratchet's handwriting. She looked at the note once more and sighed. A short time later, Arcee stepped out of her room. So far nobody seemed to notice her. Walking into the main room, she spotted Bulkhead and Bumblebee watching TV. The two of them laughing occasionally.

"I gotta say Miko was right about America's funniest home videos. The stuff people send to this show is hilarious!" said Bulkhead.

Bumblebee nodded in agreement.

They were watching video footage of a pug singing the theme song for the 1960s Batman TV series.

"Listen guys, I'm going out for a while…" said Arcee.

"All right," Bulkhead replied.

"See ya when you get back." Bumblebee said, neither of them taking their eyes off the television screen.

"Hold up," said Smokescreen.

"Where do you think you're going?" Wheeljack asked.

Both had walked in from the storage room and were curious about why Arcee was leaving.

"Hey, how I spend my morning is my business." Arcee replied before she switched to her disguise and drove off.

The two of them stood there and watched, both knew better than to follow her. Like everyone else, Smokescreen and Wheeljack were dumbfounded about Arcee and Ratchet's odd behavior.

"Geez, did she eat nails for breakfast or what?" Wheeljack wondered.

"Beats me…" Smokescreen said as he shrugged his shoulders.

There was an awkward silence which only lasted a few seconds. Why Arcee was acting so strange was beyond them.

"Wait a minute, has anybody seen Ratchet?" Wheeljack asked.

While the rest of the team wondered what was going on, Ratchet was standing on the outskirts of Jasper. Spring had started and the desert was covered with wild flowers. Most of them were dark orange California poppies, growing alongside lavender colored lilacs with snow white colored Queen Anne's lace mixed in. Further out, a few cactus plants had yellow, fuchsia and white blooms. The hills were also green, a far cry from the dull sandy brown color it had been during the winter. With the rain that fell recently, the landscape had really changed. Ratchet waited under a California redwood, he found out from Raf about these large pine trees. Some were even taller than Bulkhead. He wondered if Arcee had read the note and if she would actually show up.

Looking over to the left he noticed a pair of tiger swallow tail butterflies. The male was bright yellow with black tiger-like stripes on his wings. The female, however was solid black with blue stripes. The two were currently sitting on a patch of lilacs, with their wings fully spread out, flapping them occasionally. Ratchet smiled at them for a brief moment. Maybe his friends had a point, he should get out more often. He then snapped out of it when a familiar voice rang out.

"Nice view."

Ratchet froze and turned around. Standing a few feet away was a familiar cobalt blue female autobot.

"About time you showed up." He said to her.

Arcee blinked and looked at him.

"I got your note, what was it you wanted to talk about?" she asked as she approached him.

"Everyone's noticed we've been acting strange all week…" Ratchet answered.

Arcee leaned against the trunk of a nearby redwood, folding her arms in front of her chest.

"So?"

"You didn't tell anyone did you? Ratchet asked.

Arcee's jaw dropped.

"No, I didn't say anything when I came here with Cliffjumper, what about you?"

"Not a word, but… I know they're concerned about us." Said Ratchet.

"You're right, Jack asked me earlier if something was bothering me and I told him I didn't want to talk about it." Arcee explained.

"I told Optimus and the others the same thing." Ratchet confessed.

"So, now what? We just face the music and tell them you and I met before?" Arcee asked.

"Well, we could… we should do that but… I don't know." Ratchet answered as he looked away from Arcee.

"Same here…" the blue femme sighed.

It didn't take long for her to come up with an idea.

"I got it, after the kids get out of school then we'll tell 'em."

"All right, fine by me." Said Ratchet.

"Ok…great." Arcee replied.

"You're nervous aren't you?" Ratchet asked after a moment of awkward silence.

"Are you kidding me? Of course I'm nervous. You don't keep a secret that big for a year and then decide to tell your friends about it." Arcee answered.

"Good point." Ratchet agreed.

"I'll admit, this is a nice spot… how'd you find this place?" Arcee asked as she looked at the meadow.

"Eh, It was by accident, I made a wrong turn and…the rest is history." Ratchet answered.

"Since then, I come out here once in a while. Sometimes just to think."

"You…uh…ever come out here to cry?" Arcee asked.

Ratchet lowered his head and sighed.

"Yes, that too."

The two of them watched a pair of turkey vultures circling overhead. The large birds were mostly black with the exception of the dark pink skin on their heads and gray feathers that outlined the tips of their wings. After a moment the pair landed near the edge of a rock formation. The rusty red rock, made of sandstone was a fossilized dune that was around 180 million years old. As they looked at the landscape, both Arcee and Ratchet were familiar with this particular season. Every spring, however neither had been successful in finding a mate. To Arcee, Tailgate and Cliffjumper were her friends and teammates. Ratchet had felt the same way about Minerva, a femme he knew from medical school and a friend of one of his students, Flashpoint. After a while, Ratchet broke the silence.

"Listen, Arcee…there's something I need to tell you."

"What's that?" she asked, looking over at him and slightly tilting her head.

"It's been almost a year since you came here with Cliffjumper and…truth is, since you've moved in…" Ratchet was cut off.

"Hold a second," Arcee said before tapping her comm device.

"Hello? Oh, hey Bulkhead…whoa, whoa slow down. Where? Ok, I'll check it out."

Arcee then hung up and turned her attention back to Ratchet.

"That was Bulkhead, said Wheeljack found Vehicon tire tracks near Jasper Canyon. I… gotta go." She explained.

"Oh, all right then." Said Ratchet.

"We'll continue this conversation later," Arcee told him.

"Uh, sure." Ratchet replied nervously.

Arcee smiled before switching to her alt-mode and driving off.

Ratchet looked in the direction she had gone, then back at the meadow.

"Oy…" he sighed.

 _Later that day…_

The bell rang as school was let out for the day. Students rushed out the front doors, eager to get home. Jack sat on the steps waiting for his ride. Arcee was normally on time, with a few exceptions. He looked towards the curb, Arcee was nowhere in sight. Letting out a loud sigh, Jack looked away and continued to wait. Moments later, Miko and Raf came up to him.

"Hey, Jack…how's it going?" Miko asked.

"Yeah, what's going on?" Raf said, chiming in.

"Nothing much, Arcee hasn't showed up yet…so I'm kinda worried." Jack answered.

"Eh, I'm sure she'll be here, you guys ran late earlier today." Said Miko.

Raf turned around when he heard the sound of two cars approaching. Looking over his shoulder he spotted, Bulkhead and Bumblebee. The two were parked and waiting. Miko and Rafael smiled.

"Our rides are here, c'mon." said Miko.

"Maybe Arcee's with them." Raf added.

Jack sighed and got up as he followed his friends.

"Hey," Bulkhead greeted them.

"How was school?" Bumblebee asked.

"Ok, the rats in biology class escaped." Miko explained, tossing her backpack in the backseat and getting into the passenger side up front.

"Yeah, and Vince is in detention while Ms. Torres investigates who's responsible." Jack added.

"Oh brother…say, none of you have seen Arcee, have ya?" Bulkhead asked.

"I could ask you guys the same thing, we haven't seen her." Said Jack as he got in the backseat.

"We thought she was with you." Raf admitted.

"Well, she was but…" Bumblebee stopped short.

"Arcee went to check out some vehicon tracks near Jasper Canyon and never came back." Bulkhead explained.

"Wheeljack's been out lookin' for her but he hasn't called us yet…we said we'd help out just as soon as we got back from picking you three up." Bumblebee added.

"C'mon, maybe he found her by now." Said Bulkhead.

And with that, the five of them headed off towards Outpost One. All of them wondering just what happened to a certain blue motorcycle. Moments later, they arrived there and Arcee was still nowhere in sight. Ratchet was just as concerned as everyone else. At the moment, Optimus was dealing with a rather shocked and confused, William Fowler.

"So let me get this straight, you mean to say, a member of your team is missing?" he asked.

"It's possible…" Optimus answered.

"We haven't heard from her all afternoon. Arcee's not answering her comm link at all." Said Smokescreen.

"That's strange, how do you lose track of an autobot, especially one like her?" Fowler wondered.

"Well, I can think of a few ways…" Smokescreen started to say.

"Pipe down, Smokey." Said Bulkhead.

He looked towards the tunnel near the entrance but didn't see or hear anything. Jack, Miko and Raf were currently on the couch. All three seemed to be puzzled that Arcee was missing all of a sudden.

"She couldn't have gone far guys, I mean it's not like her." Jack pointed out.

"Yeah, we should form a search party and look." Raf suggested.

"Great idea, Raf…" Miko agreed.

"Yeah, let's do it." Said Jack.

"I'm with you on that but… I think we'll have to take a rain check." Bulkhead pointed out.

"Why is that?" Ratchet asked, chiming in.

"Come out here and look at the sky…" said Bulkhead.

Ratchet and the others all followed him outside and looked up.

"I saw it on the way over; clouds have been spreadin' out like an oil spill." Bulkhead continued.

The group was shocked by how dark the sky was and the cloud cover up ahead. The wind had also picked up, earlier that day the temperature had been a mild 74 degrees, now it was in the low 80s and humid.

"Would you take a gander at the size of that cumulonimbus." Said Bulkhead.

"Well, you took the words right out of my mouth," Ratchet admitted.

"Ya know what we're in for, right guys?" Bulkhead asked.

"What, lots of mini nimbuses?" Smokescreen joked.

The team was startled by the sound of thunder. Bulkhead flinched at seeing a large bolt of lightning. It wasn't long before Smokescreen had noticed the spike in the temperature.

"Gettin' kinda hot out here, isn't it?" he asked.

"And humid," Bumblebee added.

"What gives?" Smokescreen continued.

"From the looks of it, we're in for a storm." Said Bulkhead.

Just then, the group heard more thunder followed by lightning. Optimus looked at the sky then everyone else.

"I'll check the weather report." He offered.

Before anyone could say anything, a large tumble weed went by.

"Let's go back inside." Bulkhead said nervously.

"Yeah, let's…" Jack said nervously and with that, everyone went back.

Although they were reluctant to postpone searching for Arcee, the group knew that going out with a storm rolling in wasn't the best idea. Once indoors, Ratchet tried to get a radio signal but wasn't having much success, even with Bumblebee's help. Jack, Miko and Raf were back on the couch, all of them were rather uneasy about what to do. Fowler was also puzzled. From the looks of it, nobody was going home anytime soon. Jack, Miko and Raf had sent text messages, letting their parents know they were staying with friends because of the storm.

"Ok, we got the radio working but I can't seem to get a station." Said Bumblebee.

After a few attempts of trial and error with the radio dial, Ratchet managed to pick up a signal. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked up. What could be heard on the radio was this:

"We interrupt this program to bring you this special report. "

"Listen up!" Ratchet barked, which got the group's attention. They all looked at the radio, waiting for what the announcer said next.

"There is a flood warning in effect for the towns of Reno, Pahrump and Jasper."

"Hey, that's us!" Mike exclaimed.

"Along Highway One is reports of gray clouds have been coming in. This could be one of the biggest thunderstorms of the season."

"A thunderstorm, I knew it." said Bulkhead, as he listened to broadcast.

Bumblebee frowned, not sure how to react.

"What now?" He asked.

"We advise those in the affected areas to take adequate shelter, immediately. All schools and businesses in the flood zones are closed until further notice. This is a storm watch."

After Ratchet turned off the radio, there was an awkward silence but it only lasted a few seconds.

"All right, people; take cover." said Fowler.

"I can't believe it." Bulkhead said, feeling uneasy.

"Bulk?" Miko started to say, raising an eyebrow.

"Guys, we're talking about a thunderstorm, the real deal." Said Bulkhead who was obviously nervous.

"Jasper has had storms before." Jack pointed out.

He flinched at hearing the sound of thunder from outside.

"Not this bad though."

"Eh, Arcee's always been resourceful she'll probably find some place to dry off until this storm blows over." Said Bulkhead.

"I'm still worried about her." Jack confessed.

"Jack, Arcee's a grown woman…she can handle it." Said Miko.

"Exactly, she's practically your Mom's age in human years." Said Smokescreen.

Everyone in the room turned and stared at him as if he was crazy.

"What? I overheard she and Ratchet talking the other day." The young bot said nervously.

He was then alerted by the wind blowing outside followed by a loud thunderclap.

"Sounds like the storm's getting closer."

Bulkhead nodded.

"Course, it could be worse."

Just then, the lights in the room started flickering.

"You just had to say that." Ratchet groaned.

"Ok, we're losing power."

It was obvious he was nervous.

"Can't believe Jackie's not back yet." Said Bulkhead.

"Hey, you don't think I'm not worried? Arcee's out there for crying out loud!" Ratchet told him.

"Why are you so concerned about her, anyway? Like Miko said, Arcee can take care of herself." Smokescreen pointed out.

"I'm worried that she might be hurt and…" Ratchet stopped short and let out a sigh of frustration.

"Oh, forget it!"

"Oh, come 'on, you can tell us." Fowler insisted.

"Yeah, you can trust us." Said Raf.

"If there's something on your mind, Old friend…" Optimus started to say.

"I'm fine… really…" Ratchet assured him.

"You sure, Ratch?" Bulkhead asked, looking both confused and concerned.

"I don't want to talk about it." Said Ratchet.

He glanced at the others then towards the hallway.

"Listen, if anyone needs me I'll be checking the main power grid." The orange and white mech said before leaving the room.

There was an awkward silence but it didn't last for long. William Fowler scratched his head, while he was used to Ratchet keeping to himself, the way he was acting today seemed out-of-character for him.

"Anyone want to elaborate on why Doc-bot here is…?"

"Out to lunch?" Bulkhead finished.

"Not exactly the word I was looking for… but close enough." Said Fowler.

"That's what we're trying to figure out, Arcee's been acting strange too." Jack confessed.

"Yeah, Jack asked her what was up and…" Miko stopped short.

"She wouldn't say what was wrong." Raf finished for her.

"Hmm… that is strange, they've both been bots of few words but…I don't know what to make of this." Fowler admitted. He then looked at Optimus; maybe the blue and red mech knew something.

"Prime, you've known Ratchet and Arcee longer than the rest of us…have they mentioned anything about themselves before coming to Jasper?"

"Ratchet and I have been friends for a long time… Arcee, came here a year ago…all I know is that after her team broke up, she was on her own until she met Cliffjumper." Optimus explained.

"Right, I got that but has she mentioned anything else about herself… family? friends?" Fowler continued.

"Venomous reptiles?" Smokescreen joked.

"Never mind," he said, seeing that nobody was laughing.

"She has two sisters, Elita and Chromia but…nobody's seen or heard from them in ages." Bulkhead answered.

"Yeah, Cliffjumper and two friends of mine, Jetfire and Jetstorm tried to find them but they came up empty handed." Bumblebee explained.

"Ok, that answers my question… now about Ratchet. What's the story on him?" Fowler asked.

"He did say, that had found an injured autobot while wondering through one of the underground tunnels under Crystal City. It was much like the subways in New York. He said he treated her and after that, went their separate ways. As far as I know, they never saw each other again." Optimus answered.

"Maybe that's it." Jack concluded.

"If they never saw each other again, he might be wondering what happened to her." Rafael added.

"Well, that would explain why he's acting so weird." Said Bulkhead.

"Wait a second, the autobot he found was a female…" Miko pointed out. 

"Yeah, so?" Bulkhead asked.

"You don't think that was Arcee do you?" Miko replied.

Jack, Raf, Bulkhead and Miko looked at each other and shook their heads.

"Nah!" they all said at the same time.

The group started laughing for a few minutes forgetting about the storm at least for a while.

Meanwhile, Wheeljack wasn't the only bot out in the middle of a storm.

"Someone's coming!" a vehicon shouted, hearing footsteps.

"Let's get out of here." Said another one.

Skywarp looked down at Arcee who was on laying on the ground, unconscious. He started to pick her up but stopped when one of the vehicons shouted.

"Skywarp, we gotta go!"

He looked back at Arcee for a moment before running off. Although he was Starscream's younger brother, Skywarp was the total opposite of his sibling, but kept his kind side hidden from the other Decepticons. Letting out a loud sigh, he hoped someone would find Arcee and quickly. Walking along an old hiking trail was a royal blue and gold mech. His ankles were covered in sand, he paused for a moment, checking his surroundings. Nobody around except for some black tailed jack rabbits which quickly ran by him and into a nearby burrow. The bot, Dreadwing sniffed the air and looked up at the sky. Seeing the dark clouds made him somewhat nervous. If he had hair, it'd be standing on end. He was then startled by the sound of thunder. Just then a voice ran out.

"You coming or what? We need to get out of here before it starts raining." Breakdown shouted from up ahead.

"I'm coming…relax!" Dreadwing replied.

The two were on their way back from searching for scrap metal and other spare parts that could be used for repair jobs. Although Breakdown usually stayed on the Nemesis, he decided to tag along. From what he saw, the local salvage yard was far cry from the videos he had seen on YouTube. As Dreadwing continued on his way, he picked up another scent…one that was rather familiar. Changing direction, the mech followed it until he stopped in an area with several large rocks and some cactus. His jaw dropped when he saw what was in front him. Laying there on the ground was Arcee; she was on her right side. Taking a closer look, Dreadwing saw she wasn't moving save for her breathing. On her left side was a large gash, she was also bleeding and some cuts on her shoulder.

"What happened here?" he wondered.

Just then, he heard Breakdown's footsteps.

"Hey, I thought I told you…" he froze when he saw Arcee.

"What the…? What's she doing out here?" he asked.

"I don't know, but it looks like she's hurt." Dreadwing answered.

"We should go," said Breakdown.

The royal blue and gold mech, looked over at his teammate then at Arcee.

"Are you crazy? We can't leave her here."

"Uh, yeah if we move fast enough." Said Breakdown he was about to leave but noticed Dreadwing was still standing there.

"Breakdown, seriously… look at her… and I mean really look at her." Dreadwing said, pointing at Arcee.

Breakdown didn't say anything and took a closer look at Arcee, he was shocked at how hurt she really was. Although he had seen injured Cybertronians before, Breakdown had never seen anything quite like this.

"Whoa, she's hurt pretty bad."

He put a hand on Arcee's neck, checking her pulse and let out a sigh of relief. He also noticed her side moving up and down.

"She's still breathing; I think she's out cold."

He carefully picked up Arcee, taking note of where her gash was.

"I'll try to contact Bulkhead later… but she needs help."

Dreadwing raised an eyebrow, surprised his co-worker would attempt to call the last person he'd talk to.

"I thought you two agreed to stay out of each other's way."

"Yeah, but I owe him a favor… you want to be the one to tell the other autobots what happened?"

Dreadwing swallowed hard and didn't say anything.

"Didn't think so." Said Breakdown before he went on ahead carrying Arcee. He glanced at her once in a while and knew she needed help and quickly. The two mechs found a nearby cavern, because of the storm, their comm devices didn't work. Laying Arcee on the cave floor, Breakdown was able to examine her.

"Sheesh! This is worse than I thought. But…I'll do the best I can."

Taking out the few supplies he had, Breakdown attempted to stop the bleeding, which took a minute or so. He then took a small cloth and proceeded to clean Arcee's cuts. Shortly after applying an antibiotic ointment to them, Breakdown turned to Dreadwing who had been watching.

"I can't do this by myself, if you don't mind helping…" Breakdown was interrupted.

"Not a problem," said Dreadwing.

For the next few minutes the two mechs worked wrapping up Arcee's cuts with bandage tape. The gash on her side was too deep to wrap and as a result, Breakdown had to stitch it and cover with tape to prevent it from getting infected and to keep the stitches intact while she healed.

"She was hurt pretty badly but…she'll recover." Breakdown announced, once he finished.

Dreadwing looked outside, the storm clouds had moved further inland, and it wouldn't be long before the rain fell. Breakdown packed up what was left of his first aid kit and noticed Dreadwing had been rather silent.

"You're awfully quiet over there, D." said the stonewash blue and silver mech.

Breakdown raised an eyebrow, normally Dreadwing would chew him out when called by the nickname the other Decepticons had given him.

"Keep it down." Dreadwing told Breakdown.

Sniffing the air, the royal blue and gold mech picked up a familiar scent. Breakdown smelled it too and froze.

"Humans," Dreadwing said quietly.

"Let's get out of here."

Before either of them could do anything, the two of them heard the sound of footsteps and dogs barking.

"Breakdown, go get help!" Dreadwing shouted.

"But...what about…" Breakdown was cut off.

"Just get going," Dreadwing exclaimed.

Breakdown nodded, he darted out of the cavern and switched to his alt-mode. He managed to drive off before a group of people and eight dogs hiked up towards the cave. Dreadwing looked at Arcee then left. The sound of the dogs and footsteps were getting closer; although he had been around humans before, Dreadwing wasn't sure how to react to this. Next thing he knew, a Rottweiler and black Belgian sheepdog ran up to him barking loudly.

"Back off! Both of you!" Dreadwing growled.

But the dogs just ignored him, soon six more came up: two black and tan German shepherds, another Rottweiler, a white Shepherd and a pair of Dobermans. All the dogs barked loudly and backed Dreadwing into a corner. Before he could do anything, Dreadwing felt a small red dart in his neck, the needle pierced his metallic skin. It didn't take long for him to pull the dart out; which was a mistake. Feeling drowsy, the mech tried to shake it off but wasn't successful. Moments later, Dreadwing collapsed, the last thing he saw and heard before blacking out was the white shepherd and human voices.

"We got this one in the bag!" said one of the dog handlers.

He and four other humans quickly tied up Dreadwing. It didn't take long for one of them to notice Arcee.

"What about this one?"

"Leave the female, she's not gonna make it." One of the dog handlers answered.

"Don't be too sure." Said a voice, another human walked up in dark sunglasses. He glanced at Arcee who was still out cold before pulling out an IPhone out of his jacket pocket.

"Bring the truck around," he said and hung up.

One of the dogs, the white shepherd looked at Dreadwing and Arcee feeling nervous.

'This can't be good.' He thought.

Moments later, rain started to fall; the ground was soaked within in minutes. Local wildlife had taken shelter from the storm. Many Jasper residents had done the same, some closing their businesses early in order to get home and out of the rain. June Darby had received Jack's text message and was on her way to Outpost One. She ended up taking a different route due to one of the main roads being blocked off because of flash flooding. Along the way, she ran into Wheeljack who she followed to HQ. The team tried to make the best of the situation. Jack suggested watching a movie, which none of them objected to.

The three friends sat on the couch watching Toy Story 2. It was one of Raf's favorite movies. Not having anything better to do, Bulkhead, Bumblebee and Smokescreen decided to watch as well. On the other side of the room, Optimus was talking with William Fowler. Ratchet who came back from checking the power grid decided to do some software updates on the computer. He thought about the conversation he and Arcee had earlier and although she wasn't there, he decided to get it over with and tell the group about the secret he and Arcee had kept hidden for over a year.

So far, the small band of friends were enjoying themselves. Bulkhead laughed for a moment.

"That Mr. Potato head is hilarious,"

"Oh yeah, ya know who he reminds me of? Ratchet." said Smokescreen.

Bulkhead and the others snickered.

"Don't tell him I said that," Smokescreen continued.

"We won't," Jack, Miko and Raf said in unison.

Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of a door opening; a soaking wet sports car followed by a white sedan drove in.

Wheeljack switched from his alt mode, rain water dripped off him. June stepped out of her car, still wearing her dark gray raincoat.

"Guys, we gotta take cover," said Wheeljack.

"Yes, it's coming this way," June added.

Miko and the others nearly jumped out of their skins at hearing the thunder and seeing some lightning. Shortly after, the lights and TV went out. While it continued to rain outside, back indoors, things didn't seem to be getting any better. With the power down, the entire room was pitch black.

"Ok, who'd I step on?" June asked.

"Us!" Miko and Raf said at the same time.

"Well, that's two." June sighed.

"Jack?"

"I'm over here!" he called on the other side of the room using his cellphone as a flashlight.

"Everyone else ok?" Fowler asked.

Next thing he heard were various replies.

"Anybody seen Smokescreen?" Wheeljack asked.

"Nope." Bulkhead answered.

"Oh snap! Where is he?" Jack asked.

No sooner did he point the light from his cellphone towards the right hand corner of the room a large figure jumped out.

"Rah!"

Everyone yelled in surprise.

"That is not funny! If you were my son, you'd be grounded till graduation." Said June.

"Jack's or Miko's?" Smokescreen asked.

"Rafael's." June answered.

At that moment, Ratchet switched on a battery operated lantern. The pastel blue LED lights lit up part of the room.

"Seeing how the lights are out looks like we'll have to wait until the storm passes before they come back on." Fowler concluded.

"Not necessarily." Said Ratchet.

No sooner did he finish his sentence; a low hum from down the hallway could be heard as well as electricity crackling. The lights in the room flickered on and off, within seconds the main room was dimly lit.

"Looks like the generators have kicked in."

"Phew! Good." Jack and Miko sighed.

"You were gone a long time…" Raf pointed out, looking over at Wheeljack.

"Yeah, you find anything?" Smokescreen asked.

Wheeljack sighed and shook his head.

"No, I searched the area but the rain washed away most of Arcee's tire tracks."

"Wait, you mean Arcee's missing?" June asked.

"Yeah, she's been gone for a while now." Smokescreen replied.

"We thought something wasn't right when she didn't show up at school." Jack added.

"She hasn't called either, went to check out some vehicon tracks and never came back." Said Bulkhead.

"I combed that whole patch of dessert and… nothing. On my way back here, I almost lost control." Wheeljack explained.

"Same here, the roads are drenched." Said June.

Miko glanced at her cellphone and sighed. She had texted her host parents before the power went out but waiting for the storm to blow over was rather dull. Or so she thought.

"Well, I guess we're stuck here."

The group looked up in surprise, without saying a word, the only sound that could be heard was a cricket chirping somewhere in the room.

"O…k, let's try to make the best of it." She said.

 _Sometime later…_

Jack sighed as he looked through some photos on his cellphone. One of them was him and Arcee, in her alt-mode parked near Jasper Canyon. In the background was a large rusty red sandstone rock formation and a few Joshua trees. June glanced at her son and sat down next to him on the couch.

"You ok?" she asked.

Jack placed his phone on the coffee table and looked up.

"Not really, what if Arcee's hurt?"

"Jack, we'll find her…she couldn't have gone too far." June replied, trying to reassure him.

Ratchet looked away from the computer, enough was enough, he had to tell them.

"That tears it!" he said to himself.

As he stepped back and walked away, Optimus and Fowler watched, both of them frowned and looked at each other.

"Where's he going?" Fowler asked.

"I have no idea," Optimus answered.

Ratchet looked at the group. He was nervous but knew he had to get this thing off his chest.

"Hey, what are you standing around for?" Raf asked.

"Yeah, c'mon, you're missin' out on marshmallows." Said Miko.

Without saying a word, Ratchet, Optimus and Fowler walked over where the rest of the group had gathered. Using an old oil barrel and some newspaper, they had a small fire going with Bumblebee and Bulkhead's help. Miko and Raf had found a bag of marshmallows and kabob sticks amongst some of the snacks they had stored in a cabinet near the TV.

"So… any good stories?" Miko asked after a moment of silence.

She looked around the room, so far nobody came forward.

"Aw, c'mon, people." She groaned.

"Yeah, there has to be one we haven't heard yet." Raf insisted.

At hearing this Ratchet got an idea, maybe this would be an easier way to tell the group after all.

"Actually…there's something I need to tell all of you." He announced.

Jack, Miko, Raf and the others quickly perked up and looked at Ratchet, giving him their undivided attention.

"This is gonna be good." Miko whispered.

Raf smiled.

"I'll say," he agreed as they listened.

From the looks of things, it was going to be a long Tuesday…

 **MORE TO COME…**

 **And that's it… Quotes and such used are from the Pound Puppies episodes:** _ **Mutternal instincts**_ **and** _ **Rebel without a collar**_ **, Roseanne episode:** _ **Toto, We're not in Kansas Anymore, Krypto the Superdog, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron and Dinosaur.**_ **Also, Ms. Torres is a reference to Gina Torres, the actress who does Arachnid's voice, Gina's also married to Laurence Fishburne. Jasper Canyon is also located in Northern Nevada. Now, the questions! What big secret have Ratchet and Arcee kept hidden for a year? Who captured Dreadwing and Arcee? Who is that white shepherd and why does he seem worried? What happens next? Anyway, check back for an update in couple weeks, I'm working on other stories so this will take a while. Off to go enjoy the rest of my trip!**

 **Ciao for now!**


	2. How it all Started

**And here's chapter 2... Been working on other stories, was out of town last month and I also got a new laptop which I'm still figuring out how to use…got to love Windows 10, easy to use yet somewhat hard to figure out…so… excuse the delay. I'll be going to a local farm today to pick fruits and vegetables. I love that sort of thing and I've been looking forward to it. By the time anyone reads this I'll more than likely be heading out the door. Anyway, here's where the cliffhanger left off...**

Miko, Raf and everyone else waited to hear what Ratchet had to say. June could tell by the look on his face that he was feeling uneasy about the whole thing.

"You're all probably wondering what I'm going to tell you." Said Ratchet.

Smokescreen scoffed.

"Yeah, Captain Obvious,"

He yelped when Wheeljack elbowed him in his right side.

"Quiet!" Said the older male.

Ratchet glanced at the floor as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"I had planned to tell you this when you got out of school but I guess now's the time."

Raf frowned.

"For what?" He asked.

"Well, it's like this..." Ratchet began.

 _(Flashback begins)_

 _I was taking a short cut through one of the subway tunnels... Along the way, I ran into something, uh… someone...and... Let's just say, I learned the hard way about taking the shortest route home..._

Ratchet walked along the tracks of an old subway tunnel, it was rather dark and extremely quiet, save for the sound of water dripping from a pipe near the ceiling. As Ratchet continued on his way, he noticed something up ahead. It wasn't long before he realized that it was another bot, and a female at that.

"What are you doing here?"

The two of them made eye contact and were startled the moment they did so.

"Aah!"

The yelling was short lived but enough to scare off anything within a two block radius.

"Sorry about that…" Ratchet apologized.

"I'm Ratchet… and you..?"

"Arcee," the femme replied.

"Arcee, huh? What are you doing out here?" Ratchet asked.

"I just got back from the downtown area, there was a fire at one of the office buildings. I had to stay behind after my group left to make sure the surrounding properties were secure." Arcee explained.

"So, you're a rescue bot." Ratchet concluded.

Arcee nodded.

"Well, in that case, I'm going home. See you around." Ratchet started to leave but heard Arcee yelp as she tried to get up. He turned around and looked at her left ankle.

"You're hurt?" he asked.

"Could be." Arcee answered.

"Oy! Why did I have to run into a femme like this at a time and place like this?!" Ratchet asked himself.

"If you want, I can take a look at that." He offered.

"That's nice of you, really but I'll manage." Said Arcee.

She tried to stand but ended up flinching at the pain.

"Let me look at it," Ratchet insisted.

Arcee was about to say something but just stared at Ratchet.

"Please? I'm only trying to help you." He said.

"All right," Arcee sighed.

Ratchet examined her left ankle and saw small but deep gash, it was also bleeding.

"It's cut pretty bad." He explained.

"So?" Arcee asked.

"Nothing, just stay put. I can fix this." Ratchet answered.

Using what he had in a travel sized first aid kit, Ratchet did what he could to patch up Arcee's ankle. She froze when he grabbed her limb and proceeded to clean it with a small cloth.

"This might burn a little," he warned before using an antibacterial spray on the cut. Arcee yelped and tried to pull away but Ratchet's hold on her ankle kept the cobalt blue female from freeing herself and accidentally kicking him.

"Sorry, how long have you been down here?" Ratchet asked.

Arcee shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know, an hour?"

Her comm link signal was down due to being underground in the subway tunnel. As result she couldn't make any outgoing calls or receive incoming ones, no different than a cellphone.

"Noted," said Ratchet.

As he cleaned and patched Arcee's ankle, she couldn't help but watch and noticed a few things about Ratchet. He was persistent but nice and seemed compassionate by going out of his way to help a bot he didn't know. As Arcee tried to adjust her sitting position in an attempt to get more comfortable, she quickly noticed Ratchet's firm but gentle grip holding her in place. Ratchet and Arcee looked at each other once in a while. Despite the dim lights in the ceiling, they could see clear as day. Ratchet could tell Arcee was nervous but also had an independent streak when she refused his offer to help. Looking out of the corner of his eye, he noticed she had a slim build but also had strong limbs and athletic appearance. Unbeknownst to Ratchet, Arcee had now imprinted his scent. After applying some pain relief ointment to her cut, he bandaged it up.

"All done," Ratchet announced and let go of Arcee's ankle.

"How's that?"

"Much better," she said.

"You need any help?" he asked.

"No thanks, I can take it from here, my group's not that far away." Said Arcee.

She managed to get up and was able to walk but not without limping.

"All right, just stay off that leg and you should be fine." Ratchet told her.

Arcee nodded.

"I will, see ya."

Just the two of them were about to go their separate ways, a voice rang out from the far right hand side of the tunnel.

"Hold it right there!"

Both Ratchet and Arcee froze.

A tall black mech with olive green markings and bright red eyes stepped out of the shadows.

"Who are you?" Ratchet asked.

"The name's Lockdown," the mech replied.

He then looked over at Arcee.

"I've been looking all over for you."

Ratchet glanced at Arcee then back at Lockdown. He could tell by the other mech's age, that he was around the same age as Arcee and there was no way he could pass as her sire. Lockdown had heard of Ratchet, having crossed paths with autobots many times before.

"You two know each other?"

"Something like that," Arcee said nervously.

"So, what are you her brother?" Ratchet asked.

"No," was Lockdown's reply.

"Cousin?"

Lockdown shook his head.

"Nope."

It was right then and there Ratchet's next question is what got a reaction out of both bots.

"Mate?"

"Mate?!" Arcee and Lockdown said at the same time.

"No, no…"

"Look here, pal…Megatron asked me to track down this femme and I ain't leavin' without her." Lockdown explained.

'Megatron?!' Ratchet thought as he stood there in shock.

Why hadn't he noticed this before? Lockdown's eye color was a major giveaway that he was a Decepticon!

"One side," said Lockdown as he pushed Ratchet out of the way.

"Hey!" he yelled as he fell back into the wall.

"Thought you could lose me by goin' into the subway tunnels, huh? Smart move, yet I managed to find you." Said Lockdown.

"And this is coming from a guy who flunked geography in school." Arcee replied.

Lockdown growled angrily and held back a rude comment that popped up in his mind.

"That's it! We're out of here."

"Say what?!" Arcee exclaimed.

"We're leaving…now." Said Lockdown.

"Uh, you might be… but I'm not." Arcee told him.

"Listen, I'll try to be nice… Megatron told me to bring you back in one piece…now, I've got a job to do…so if you don't mind." Lockdown started to say.

"Forget it," said Arcee.

"All right, if that's the way you want it…"

Lockdown went over to grab Arcee but suddenly found himself on the ground.

"Back off," Arcee growled, her arm blades now exposed and ready to defend herself.

Lockdown slowly got up and shook himself.

"You play rough, lady." He said before wiping off his cheek and the corner of his mouth.

"I like that,"

He was about to approach her again when Ratchet got between Arcee and Lockdown.

"What do you think you're doing?" he asked.

"Have you lost it? She wants to be left alone." Ratchet answered.

"Stay out this, all right?" Lockdown told him.

Ratchet didn't say anything and just stood there to make a point that he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

"Oh, so it's like that, eh? Fine!" said Lockdown.

Extending his retractable claws, Lockdown attempted to jump Ratchet who got out of the way. The black and olive green Decepticon landed hard on ground, getting a mouth full of dirt in the process.

"I don't know if that was smart or crazy, but let's go!" said Ratchet.

Arcee didn't have to think twice before following him.

Lockdown spit out the chunks of dirt and growled loudly. Getting up on his feet, he saw where the two autobots had ran off to. He whistled loudly as if calling someone. Seconds later, the sound of running footsteps could be heard in the tunnel. A large dark gray and white wolf-like bot with neon yellow eyes came up to him.

"Steeljaw, after them!" said Lockdown.

The wolf nodded and got down on all fours before he took off running.

"Ok, any more bright ideas?" Arcee asked.

"When I think of something, I'll let you know." Ratchet answered.

The two stopped in their tracks when they reached a dead end, in front of them the tunnel was blocked off with a sign that said 'Closed for repairs'.

"Oh c'mon!" Arcee groaned.

"Well, it couldn't get any worse."

Just then they heard a howl.

"Yes it could!" said Ratchet.

Arcee then noticed a smaller tunnel with an exit sign hanging above it.

"And I think I just found our exit."

"Works for me," said Ratchet.

By the time, Steeljaw caught up, after following their tracks and scent, Arcee and Ratchet were gone. With his ears flat against his head, he let out a frustrated snarl.

"Lost them!"

His owner, Lockdown then came up behind him. Both Ratchet and Arcee's scent had started to fade away.

"You won't get away next time, Ratchet…I promise you that."

 _Later…_

Ratchet and Arcee panted heavily, once they were sure Lockdown and Steeljaw had stopped following them, the duo stopped to take a break.

"Hey, thanks for…back there." Said Arcee.

"You're welcome," was Ratchet's reply.

"I think I can walk from here," Arcee told him.

Ratchet frowned.

"Are you sure? I don't mind walking you wherever you need to go." He offered.

"I appreciate it, but you've done enough…" Arcee insisted.

"If you say so…" Ratchet sighed.

"Well, I guess this is it."

"Wait, so…I won't see you again?" Arcee asked.

"Probably not," Ratchet sighed.

"All right, then…bye." Said Arcee.

She and Ratchet looked at each other one last time before heading off in different directions.

 _(Flashback ends)_

"So…then what happened?" Bulkhead asked.

"We never saw each other after that…" Ratchet answered.

"But not for long, after a while that all changed."

 _(Another Flashback begins)_

 _Three years later…_

"Well, this is it…" said Bulkhead.

"Home sweet home, it's not much but hey, it's free room and board and nobody bothers us. So you guys can stay here as long as you want."

Both Cliffjumper and Arcee looked over at the small town. Near the road was a sign with 'Welcome to Jasper' written in bold white letters.

"C'mon, we'll show you around." Bulkhead offered.

A short time later, Bulkhead, Optimus and Bumblebee arrived back at Outpost One with Arcee and Cliffjumper in tow.

"Ratchet, would you come out here for a moment?" Optimus called.

"I'll be right there," was the reply from down the hall.

"There's more of you?" Cliffjumper asked.

"Just us and Ratchet…that's it, you two are the first bots we've met since we got to this place." Bulkhead explained.

"All right, I'm here, now what's all this abou…?" Ratchet froze when he saw Arcee.

Arcee stood there in shock, she immediately recognized Ratchet's scent.

'It's you!' the two of them thought as they stared at each other.

"Who is this?" Ratchet asked.

"I'm Cliffjumper and this here is Arcee." Cliffjumper replied.

"Nice to meet you," Ratchet said in a somewhat dull tone.

"Likewise," Arcee replied.

She could tell Ratchet was trying not to make it obvious that they knew each other. While she was happy to see him again it took all her strength not to run up and hug the orange and white mech.

"So…you…uh, got any extra rooms?" Cliffjumper asked.

"Right this way," Optimus answered, heading towards the hallway.

Cliffjumper and others followed except for Ratchet and Arcee. The two waited until everyone was out of earshot range.

"I…can't believe you're really here! Thought I'd never see you again." Arcee confessed.

"Neither did I…never forgot what happened that day either." Ratchet admitted.

Arcee walked up to him, her sky blue eyes staring back at his aqua colored ones.

"I missed you,"

Ratchet nearly fell over, he didn't even know this femme that well and now she was standing there, saying that she missed him?!

"Y-you did?" he asked.

Arcee nodded.

The two Cybertronians smiled, both were surprised when they caught themselves letting out some small cat-like purrs.

"Hey! Are you coming or what?" Bulkhead asked, noticing the group was a couple bots short.

He then noticed the way Arcee and Ratchet were staring at one another.

"Did I miss something, here?"

At that moment, Ratchet and Arcee snapped out of it.

"No," they both replied.

Bulkhead frowned, still confused.

"O…k."

As Arcee and Ratchet followed him, Bulkhead couldn't shake off what he saw.

"That was weird."

 _(Flashback ends)_

"And that's it, my big secret…now you all know." Ratchet sighed.

"Whoa, whoa…hold up, you guys ran into Lockdown and survived?!" Bulkhead asked.

"Yes, why?" Ratchet replied.

"This guy has a long list of records, kidnapping, fraud and bootlegging." Wheeljack explained.

"And he's just plain crazy," Smokescreen added.

"So…nobody else besides you and Arcee knew about this?" Wheeljack asked.

"Optimus and Cliffjumper knew…" Ratchet confessed.

"And you didn't say anything?!" Smokescreen exclaimed, glancing at Optimus.

"Whatever anyone on my team shares regarding their personal life is kept strictly confidential." The blue and red mech replied.

"Meaning?" Smokescreen asked.

Ratchet shook his head, did he really have to explain? When he didn't say anything Fowler took over.

"I'll put it in layman's terms…it means, none of your business."

At that, Smokescreen got quiet.

"So, what now?" Jack asked.

"As soon as the storm passes, we will search for Arcee…in the meantime…" Optimus stopped short.

"Who's up for a movie?" Bulkhead asked.

"Eh, why not?" said Miko.

Ratchet looked towards the entrance, he was tempted to go out and look for Arcee despite the fact there was a thunderstorm going on. He snapped out of thought when Raf called.

"Ratchet, the movie's starting."

The orange and white mech sighed and went to join the rest of the group. Maybe watching a movie wouldn't be such a bad idea.

 _Next day…_

The storm was over but that didn't mean it was exactly safe to go out yet. Many areas surrounding Jasper were flooded, the clouds in the sky were a mix of snow white and charcoal gray. Aside from that, it was sunny and mild. Schools and certain businesses were to remain closed until further notice. This sat well with Miko who was glad she and the others wouldn't be in class on Monday. While everyone got up, having fallen asleep after watching the movie; Ratchet was about to ask when Optimus wanted to organize the search party. Before he could get a word in, the group was alerted by an incoming call from the comm link system.

Typing in the password, Ratchet stood there and waited. What he and the others heard was quite a wakeup call.

"Hello? Hello! Is this thing on?" a voice asked.

"It is now, go ahead Breakdown." Ratchet replied.

"Breakdown?! What are you callin' here for?" Bulkhead asked.

"Chill out, Bulkhead…I'm only calling because I wanted to tell you all something." Breakdown explained.

"That what, you plan to try slashing our tires again? 'cause that wasn't funny when you tried shove me down that ravine last week and it isn't funny now." Said Wheeljack.

"Would you lot hear me out? I'm tryin' to explain myself…this is serious!" Breakdown insisted.

"Oh yeah, sure…" Wheeljack scoffed.

"That's enough!" Optimus growled.

At that moment, Wheeljack lowered his head and shoulders, looking more submissive.

"What is your reason for calling us, Breakdown?" Optimus asked.

"Well…it has nothin' to do with Megatron in case you're wondering." Breakdown continued.

"Wait a second, you didn't run into Arcee by any chance, have you? She went to check out some tire tracks and never came back." Said Bulkhead.

"Ok, that explains what she was doing when Dreadwing and I found her." Breakdown concluded.

"You found her?!" everyone shouted.

"Yeah, that's what I called to tell you, look it's a long story…meet me in the canyon in fifteen minutes and I'll explain everything." Breakdown offered.

"How do we know this isn't some kind of joke?" Wheeljack asked.

"It isn't, I promise." Breakdown assured him.

"Yeah right," said Wheeljack.

"Listen, I'm trying to help you for once, honestly!" Breakdown insisted.

"And why would you want to do that?" Fowler asked.

"Because I owe Bulkhead a favor for saving my skin." Breakdown answered.

Bulkhead and everyone else stood there, staring at the computer monitor. Optimus didn't need to hear anything else, Breakdown sounded sincere and so far this was the only lead they had regarding Arcee's whereabouts. He turned towards the rest of the team, who were waiting to hear what he was about to say.

"Autobots, roll out."

"Right behind you, Boss-bot." Bulkhead said before switching to his vehicle mode and following Optimus and the others.

 _Moments later…_

"So, let me get this straight you and Dreadwing found Arcee out here?" Bulkhead asked.

"Right, she was injured but I fixed her up…with Dreadwing's help." Breakdown explained.

"How bad was it?" Ratchet asked.

Breakdown lowered his head.

"Oh, I see…" said Ratchet.

"When I filled a missing person's report with Megatron, I found out Arcee had wandered into what had been marked as Decepticon turf and…well…Thundercracker wasn't happy to see her." Breakdown explained.

Breakdown then noticed, Optimus, Wheeljack and Bumblebee narrow their eyes.

"But don't worry, once Megatron got word, he chewed out Thundercracker for messing with an autobot for no reason." Breakdown added.

"And he didn't do anything else?" Wheeljack asked.

"I wouldn't say that…you won't be seein' O'l Thunder anytime soon…Megatron gave him another job assignment," Breakdown answered.

 _Meanwhile…_

Thundercracker muttered loudly as he picked up a crate for what seemed like the umpteenth time that morning. Megatron had given him the job of reorganizing the storage closet on the Nemesis which in bad shape, to say the least. Just when Thundercracker thought he was done with stacking crates, he was alerted by Megatron.

"Uh…Thundercracker…You forgot something."

He then pointed at twelve more boxes and crates on the far end of the walk in closet.

The midnight blue and silver mech's jaw dropped.

"Ohh! C'mon now…" he groaned before going back to work

Megatron couldn't help but snicker.

"Music to my ears."

"Same here," said Starscream who was standing next to Megatron, watching his sibling. It was one of the few times Thundercracker got in trouble and was held accountable for it instead of Starscream. He and Megatron stood there for a few more seconds before walking out, their laughter could be heard down the hallway.

 _Back in Jasper Canyon…_

"So, you have no idea where Arcee is?" Ratchet asked.

"No, but I think I know what happened…some humans and their dogs were coming up to the cavern not far from here. Dreadwing told me to go out ahead, I didn't want to, but he made me leave. Last I saw, he had stayed behind with Arcee." Breakdown answered.

"Wait… so you think those humans…took them?" Bumblebee asked.

"'Fraid so…Bee…nobody's heard from Dreadwing since it rained and I'm sure you guys haven't heard from Arcee either." Said Breakdown.

"Nope," was Smokescreen's reply.

"I don't get it, apart from MECH… what other humans would capture them?" Bulkhead wondered.

"And why?" Breakdown agreed.

"Hold it, you don't think they'd take samples for a biopsy, do you?" Wheeljack asked.

All the mechs looked at each other and shuddered.

"I don't wanna think about it." Said Smokescreen.

"Hey, it's not exactly something I want to picture either, kid." Breakdown admitted.

"I don't think any of us would like to think about it." Said Wheeljack.

"Breakdown, what is Megatron doing regarding the missing person situation with Dreadwing?" Optimus asked.

"If you mean has he had anyone to go out and look, Oil-Slick, Firebreaker and Snowcat left at the crack of dawn. Starscream is coming here later to help me. What about you guys?" Breakdown answered.

"We're looking too, but we're not exactly sure where to start." Bulkhead explained.

He then noticed several prints on the ground, ones that were left by hiking boots, dogs and some tire tracks similar to those from a big rig truck.

"Well, I know what we're doin' today."

 _Somewhere in Canada…_

After what felt like several days when it was just twelve hours, Dreadwing and Arcee woke up.

"Ohh, my head." Dreadwing groaned as he sat up.

"You're not the only one." Said Arcee.

Both of them froze and made eye contact.

"What are you doing here?!" they asked in unison.

"I asked you first," said Dreadwing.

"I-I don't know…I was following some vehicon tracks in the canyon, next thing I know, I'm on the ground and was out cold after that. What about you?" Arcee replied.

"Well, this might be hard to believe but…I found you," Dreadwing confessed.

"You…did?" Arcee asked.

Dreadwing nodded.

Arcee then yelped as she tried to sit up.

"Ouch!"

"Ok, if you found me then maybe you can tell me what happened while I was out." Said Arcee.

"Certainly…Breakdown and I were out looking for spare parts to repair the Nemesis, what we found at the local salvage yard was mostly scrap iron, glass bottles and a few odds and ends. But on the way back, I picked up your scent and sure enough, there you were, knocked out…" Dreadwing explained.

"And you didn't leave me there?" Arcee asked in surprise.

Dreadwing shook his head.

"Breakdown wanted to but I didn't…he changed his mind when he examined you…I helped him bandage up your cuts and stitched that gash on your side…You were hurt badly." He said.

Arcee then noticed the bandage tape on her side.

"Uh…thanks."

Dreadwing smiled.

"You're welcome."

"I never expected someone like you to go out of your way to help a bot like me." Said Arcee.

"Well, I couldn't leave you there…besides, if the Autobots knew I'd auctioned off to the highest bidder and wind up in a display case at some science center." Dreadwing answered.

Arcee snickered.

"Oh yeah, now I get your point."

Arcee looked around and noticed she and Dreadwing were in some sort of enclosure, it reminded them of the glass cases used at museums.

"How about we get out of here?" She suggested.

"Best idea I've heard all day." Dreadwing agreed.

Despite his attempts to break the glass, he couldn't.

"I hate to say it, but I think we're stuck in here." Said Dreadwing.

"Wait a minute, it must've been those humans that Breakdown and I heard, they probably brought us here." He concluded.

"You're absolutely right," said a voice.

Both Cybertronians looked up and saw a human who looked to be in his early 30s wearing a dark blue suit and black and white striped tie.

"Wait a minute…you're not Silas." Said Arcee.

"I think you have me confused with someone else…I'm Joshua Joyce, owner and CEO of KSI…short for Kinetic Solutions Incorporated." The human explained.

"Never heard of you," Arcee replied.

"Nor have I," said Dreadwing.

"All right, allow me to explain, we're a technology company based in Chicago, however I have branches in Tokyo, San Francisco, New York, Mexico City, Johannesburg..." Joshua was cut off.

"What branch is this?" Dreadwing asked.

"Either of you been to Montreal, Canada?" Joshua replied.

"Canada?!" Arcee and Dreadwing shouted.

"That's right, and let me tell you, it wasn't exactly easy hauling something as large as you two across the country." Said Joshua.

"Obviously…" Dreadwing scoffed.

"Ok, smart guy…I'm gonna let that slide." Said Joshua.

"Any questions?"

"Just one…" Arcee replied.

"Why are we stuck in this box?!"

"Funny you should ask…a friend of mine in Maine sent me some information he had found about your kind and well…the rest is history." Joshua explained.

"Let's get one thing straight, you can forget about keeping us behind glass, we're not some science project that you put together." Said Dreadwing.

"Hate to break it to you, but you might as well make yourselves comfortable, you're gonna be here for a while." Joshua explained, as he adjusted his glasses.

"What?!" Dreadwing and Arcee said at the same time.

Just then, Joshua's iPhone rang. He pulled it out of pocket and looked at the caller I.D.

"Sorry, I've got to take this call…we'll talk later." He said before walking out, leaving a shocked Arcee and Dreadwing sitting there.

"I still don't understand what he wants us for." Dreadwing admitted.

"Well… let me think, you're a Decepticon, I'm an Autobot, think about what our offspring would look like."

Then he thought about what Arcee said as they looked at one another. Both of them groaned and turned away.

"Ohh, I do not want to picture that!" said Dreadwing.

After pausing for a second, he noticed Arcee snicker.

"There's nothing funny about it, Arcee!" Dreadwing growled.

"Actually it kind of is, think about it, you and me…together?" she said.

"I guess you're right," Dreadwing agreed.

The two of them then started laughing. They stopped when they heard a loud bark. Looking up, they spotted a white German shepherd with emerald green eyes staring at them. His tail wagged as he looked at the two bots.

"Aww," was all Arcee could say.

Dreadwing raised an eyebrow at this.

"What? I like dogs." Said Arcee.

"He seems fascinated by us for some reason," Dreadwing pointed out.

"And I can see why," Arcee replied.

She pointed at the dog, hanging from his dark chocolate brown collar was a silver tag with an Autobot logo engraved on the front. Although the tag was somewhat worn, Arcee could make out what it was.

"Serge!" Joshua called.

The shepherd, Serge lowered his tail and whined he hated to leave but knew he had to. Glancing over at Dreadwing and Arcee he winked at them before running off.

"Did that dog just wink at us?" Arcee asked.

"I don't know, you tell me." Dreadwing answered.

 _Hours later…_

In order to allow them to get used to their new surroundings, Dreadwing and Arcee had been left alone for the most part. During that time they tried to figure out how to escape, but came up emptyhanded. Dreadwing then noticed Arcee seemed to be getting tired.

"Look, let's just stay put until tomorrow morning." The royal blue and gold mech suggested.

"'Kay," Arcee sighed, she was too exhausted and injured to reject it anyway.

The enclosure they were in wasn't much, apart from a mat in the corner it was extremely dull.

Arcee stretched out on the mat which was surprisingly comfortable.

"'Night Dreadwing." She said before falling asleep.

Without anything to cover her up and the fact that Canada's temperatures were colder than Jasper, Arcee was shivering. Dreadwing watched her for a few seconds, getting an idea he grinned. He laid down next to Arcee draping the tip of his left wing as well as his arm over her. Shortly after, Arcee stopped shivering. Although Dreadwing was a Decepticon which were known for their vicious temper and semi feral nature, he was respectful towards femmes and knew when to give them their space. This time however, he couldn't sit there and let Arcee freeze during the night. Dreadwing watched the cobalt blue femme as she slept.

"Good night, Arcee," he said before dosing off.

 _Two days later…_

"This is ridiculous, we've looked everywhere!" said Bulkhead.

After searching the Canyon and several outlying areas, Team Prime came up emptyhanded. The Decepticons weren't successful either, even though they had several flyers which allowed them to go further out.

No sooner did Bulkhead finish his sentence, the comm link system beeped.

"Apparently not," said June.

Ratchet pushed the button on the keyboard to answer.

"Hello, Ratchet here…"

There was some chatter on the other end of the line that was somewhat hard to make out.

"You did?!"

He then turned towards the others.

"They've been located!"

It wasn't long before the sound of cheering could be heard.

Ratchet listened to the call for a second.

"Oh, not exactly…"

He pushed another button on the keyboard enabling the speaker.

"This is Oil-Slick, I'm calling to file a report."

"What have you got?" Wheeljack asked.

"From the look of things, some humans picked up a shipping crate not far from me."

"Did you find anything else?" Optimus asked.

"Uh, no… but we got their scent. One is French vanilla with a mix of motor oil, the other…"  
Oil-Slick paused for a moment, lifting his head to sniff the air.

"Jet fuel and pine…"

"That's them!" said Bulkhead.

"Raf, give us the coordinates." Optimus told him.

Miko and the other humans looked at the bots.

"Where you going?" she asked.

"Canada," said Ratchet.

 **MORE TO COME…**

 **And that's it for now.**

 **So…how do ya like them apples? Speaking of apples, I'll be picking some at farm today if there's any. Now, on with the notes. Quotes and such are from the following: Massugu Ni Ikou season 2 episode 2: 'The Lost Shokora-Chan', Steve Harvey Show, Jungle Cubs episode: The coming of the wolves, Pound Puppies season 1 episodes 11 and 12: Homeward Pound and Rebel without a Collar. Fresh Prince episodes: 'Will goes a Courtin'' and 'Now I know why the caged bird screams'. Homeward Bound 2: Lost in San Francisco, Everybody hates Chris episode: 'Everybody hates Funerals', Justice League Unlimited episode: Flashpoint, The Parkers episode: 'Single Black Female' Rescue bots season 1 episode 18: 'Bumble to the Rescue!' and the Sister, Sister episode: 'I do'. If anyone asks I haven't seen the 4** **th** **Transformers movie, Age of Extinction, just clips on YouTube but if anyone's seen it then you probably recognize Joshua Joyce, the owner of KSI, also when looking up Steeljaw, there is a version of him as Lockdown's pet in the movie. For those that don't know biopsy isn't the same as an autopsy, a biopsy is when skin and tissue samples are taken from a human or animal for medical or scientific research. Ratchet and Arcee running into Lockdown is loosely from the Transformers Animated episode: 'Thrill of the Hunt'. Oil-Slick is also from Transformers Animated. Snowcat and Firebreaker are two male Decepticon characters from the online game, Transformers Universe. It was based on Transformers Prime but it was shut down earlier this year.**

 **Also for anyone that's wondering if this story will eventually become a Dreadwing/Arcee story or a triangle between Ratchet, Arcee and Dreadwing, trust me it won't. Sorry to disappoint, still if anyone wants to write a story with Dreadwing and Arcee as a pairing, go ahead…I won't stop you, send me a message if you do but please, nothing M rated. The line about the science center is a reference to the California science center in Los Angeles. It's the only location on the west coast where one of N.A.S.A.'s shuttles is parked. Montreal is also a large city in the Province of Quebec, Canada.**

 **Also, if anyone has any questions, feel free to ask them in a review or message. As for when chapter three of this story will be up, I can't say but at this point it will probably be in October. Why? Because I need to update my other stories which have been on hiatus since my old laptop went out. So in the meantime, check out my other stories.**

 **Stay Tuned!**


	3. Just a note

Hi folks,

I apologize for the delay...trust me, I haven't forgot about this story in case anyone's wondering, I just hit a roadblock between this and my other stories then of course I've had several other things happen too.

But I promise that I will finish what I started.

I have part of the outline already in mind...I just need to write a rough draft when I have the time.

Plus Rescue bots season 4 starts on April 23rd which also is the anniversary of when one of my family dogs came home as a small 1 lb puppy. She's now a 4 year old, 7 lbs adult Morkie(Maltese/Yorkshire terrier mix). If anyone out there is looking for a small non-shedding, intelligent and mild tempered dog, this breed just might work...but be prepared for the noise factor...they can be...*cough* talkative...but it depends on the individual dog so keep that in mind. Apart from that, they're good dogs.

If anyone has any questions or suggestions for my stories, I will check my messages and reply as soon as possible.

Thank you all for waiting, I really do appreciate it.


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